In the construction in repair of a wide variety of facilities, it is necessary to dig trenches and lay sewer pipes, gas pipes, conduits, or the like in the trenches so formed, and then fill in the trenches. In order to prevent complications that may result from soil in the trenches settling, it is highly desirable to compact the soil in the trenches once they are formed, and as they are filled, and for this purpose a wide variety of compacting roller assemblies have been developed, such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,891,342; 2,891,335; and 3,595,411.
It is highly desirable to provide compacting roller assemblies that may readily be attached to existing equipment utilized in the construction and filling of the trenches, such as conventional crawler excavators and the like. Available compacting roller assemblies have not been entirely successful in performing their designed functions in all types of trench environments, however, and especially when employed in heavy-duty applications with crawler excavators and the like. Commercially-available roller compacting assemblies experience problems of feet breakage, quick destruction of the structure (i.e., bearings and axles) for mounting the rollers, and insufficient cleaning of the roller feet and/or breakage of the cleaning combs. Additionally, it is necessary to provide a downward pressure on the roller with the hydraulic boom mounting the roller assembly in order to effect sufficient compaction, which can result in reduced life of the hydraulic boom and/or reduce life of the roller mounting components due to excessive stress applied thereto.
According to the present invention, a compactor assembly and method of utilization thereof are provided which eliminate the drawbacks associated with prior art compacting assemblies. The compactor assembly according to the present invention is especially adapted for heavy-duty use, such as mounting to a crawler excavator, and can be used in a wide variety of heavy-duty applications without destruction of the roller feet, without destruction of the roller rotatable mounting devices, and with effective cleaning of the feet during use. Additionally, the weight of the compactor assembly is significantly greater than that of commercially-available assemblies (e.g., 2300 lbs. vs. 400 lbs.), and can thus perform its compacting functions without requiring the hydraulic boom (of the crawler excavator or the like) to which it is mounted to exert any downward pressure, and without the necessity for vibrating the roller to achieve effective compaction.
The compactor assembly according to the present invention comprises a sheep's foot roller having a plurality of feet extending radially outwardly from an exterior cylindrical surface thereof, the cylindrical surface having a central axis and having an axial length L, and defining an open interior volume. An axle is provided having a length L' less than the length L, and means are provided for mounting the axle along the roller cylindrical surface central axis so that the axle is completely contained within the interior volume defined by the cylindrical surface and thus the possibilities of damage thereto are minimized. A frame operatively mounts the roller to a crawler excavator or the like, the frame comprising a pair of side plates and at least one cross-plate, and means for mounting the axle to the frame side plates are provided so that the roller rotate about the axis. The means for mounting the axle are preferably mounted so that the axle remains stationary with respect to the side plates and the roller rotates about the axle, a lifetime heavy-duty sealed bearing assembly being provided between the roller and axle.
Also, according to the present invention, the feet are disposed in a plurality of series, each series including a plurality of feet extending circumferentially around the roller and each series being axially spaced from an adjacent series. Each of the feet comprises a solid member tapered to a truncated apex in a dimension extending radially outwardly from the cylindrical surface of the roller with each truncated apex disposed in a plane parallel to a tangent to the roller. Each foot has a pair of parallel flat spaced sides, each flat side disposed in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the roller, and each flat side disposed in a common plane with the flat sides of the other feet in its respective circumferential series of feet. Such solid feet provide maximum compaction and minimum rolling resistance. The cleaning comb according to the invention provides effective cleaning of the feet so that material build-up or debris cannot prevent the roller from rotating, effective cleaning being provided in both directions of rotation of the roller, and the cleaning comb not rotation of the roller, and the cleaning comb not being subject to breakage. The cleaning comb comprises a plurality of cleaning comb plates, each plate having a pair of faces that are parallel to the feet flat sides and mounted so that the faces thereof each cooperate with the flat sides of a different circumferential series of feet to effect cleaning thereof. Each cleaning comb plate has an arcuate edge portion joining the faces and extending the entire circumferential distance of the roller within the volume defined by the frame side plates and cross-plates, and each comb is connected to both the top and back cross-plates.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an improved compactor assembly, especially for compacting soil in a trench, and a method of utilization thereof. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention and from the appended claims.